As far as style crazes go, TikTok has recently given us cottagecore, chaotic academia, and coastal grandmother. The latest trend to gain over a billion views on the platform are the hashtags #oldmoney and #oldmoneyaesthetic.
The point of this latest fad is to post videos sharing what it takes to look like you come from generational wealth, even if your surname isn’t Rockefeller, Hearst, Carnegie or Tata.
This isn’t the first trend dedicated to faking wealth. Last year, “rich girl skin” and “rich person hair” blew up on the platform, showcasing the likes of Gigi Hadid, Lily-Rose Depp, and Hailey Bieber’s glowing, pore-free visages and sleek locks.
Interestingly, for a Gen Z trend, #oldmoney is overwhelmingly class-conscious and exclusionary, promoting the kind of you-can’t-sit-with-us message that sounded the death knell for preppy brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, which famously leaned into it and paid the price.
Who is ‘old money’?
“Old money” means different things in different countries.
In the US, old money goes hand in hand with a famous surname. Whether Vanderbilt, Rothschild, DuPont or Astor, old money stateside is concerned with storied ancestry and wealth that was built off the back of the actions of “robber barons” — industrialists and financiers who monopolised industry through exploitation in 19th-century America.
Further, old money inspiration can be found among Truman Capote’s “swans”, the name he gave to the New York socialites who flocked to befriend the Breakfast At Tiffany’s author. They included Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill, C Z Guest, Gloria Guinness of the famous beverage dynasty, and Marella Agnelli of the Italian industrialist family.
In the UK, old money is inextricably tied to the aristocracy and landed gentry. Family trees that go back centuries, close relationships with monarchs, grand estates and hereditary peerages. Think anyone with a title, several surnames, a castle and who makes regular appearances in the pages of the aristocratic chronicler Tatler.
Old money tends to marry old money, and keeping wealth within the family remains an inviolable trait across generations.
What is the ‘old money aesthetic’?
An example of the #oldmoneyaesthetic can be found on HBO’s Gossip Girl, in which privileged teens run riot around Manhattan, live in penthouses and mansions, and use their parents’ connections to get out of trouble. Similarly, Elite on Netflix, which follows the lives of private school teens in Spain, including children of marchionesses, diplomats and industrialists, is jam-packed with old money aesthetic.
Old money dresses discreetly, meaning handmade loafers, heirloom pearls and cashmere. If worn at all, designer labels are low-key, think Chanel and Hermes, as opposed to Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana.
In the UK, old money is often asset-rich and cash-poor. Holes in jumpers, decades-old Barbour jackets, Savile Row suits: clothes are excellent quality, shoes are handmade, and all are purchased with the understanding that they will be worn until they fall apart.
Women are always immaculately tailored. Elastic waistbands are a no-no, headscarves are de rigueur. Princess Diana and the Sloane Ranger aesthetic, as recently showcased in the Oscar-nominated Spencer, epitomises old money.
Men dress like Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald or Elite’s Guzman Nunier. Fraternity style rules and Prince Harry is a style inspiration.
New money, nouveau riche and ‘California rich’
Old money has long looked down on and been dismissive of new money. Old money sees itself as having class, new money is viewed as crass; old money is discreet, new money flashes the cash; old money wears great-grandmother’s pearls, new money is head-to-toe in visible brand names.
With the concept drenched in class snobbery, what used to be called “new money” has been renamed “California rich” by Gen Z.
In Legally Blonde terms: Warner Huntington III is old money, while Elle Woods is California rich.
TikTok users have been leaning hard into the comparisons, posting videos asking: “Why be California rich, when you can be Connecticut rich?” alongside images of country manors, polo matches, ponies, dogs and yachts.
Spin-off trends have included “old money names” (William, Henry, Meredith), “old money houses” (gated mansions), and “old money lifestyle” (polo, tennis, charity galas).
Although some fans have fallen hook, line and sinker for an aesthetic steeped in issues of race and privilege, a few voices on the platform point out that problems lie beneath the superficiality of the trend. “As a fashion aesthetic it seems to be something people are very fascinated about because it is sophisticated, it is understated,” says user @stylehard. “But old money is not always pure class.”
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
The%20Mandalorian%20season%203%20episode%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERick%20Famuyiwa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPedro%20Pascal%20and%20Katee%20Sackhoff%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
